ENG 101: Writing I, Fall 2013, Sections P5 and R5Tamara Rabe, English

Course Information Instructor InformationCredits: 3 Office: Clemens 321

Classroom: Clemens 221 for P5 Baldy 123 for R5

E-mail: rabe@buffalo .eduHome phone (before 9 PM please): 835-1176

Meeting Time: TTR 11-12:20 P5 TTR 2-3:20 R5

Office Hrs: M through F 1-1:50

Course DescriptionCourse CatalogFirst semester of the General Education Writing Skills Requirement for students required to take both ENG 101 and ENG 201. Practice in developing essays with variable emphases on purpose, subject, audience, and persuasion; in constructing mature sentences and paragraphs; and in revising. Introduces documenting and writing from sources. Twenty-five pages of graded, revised writing, excluding first drafts, exercises, and quizzes. Students may not receive credit for both ENG 101 and ESL 407. This course is a controlled enrollment (impacted) course. Students who have previously attempted the course and received a grade other than W may repeat the course in the summer or only in the fall or spring semester with a petition to the College of Arts and Sciences Deans' Office.

Course IntroductionAs students in America or from around the world, you have spent many years learning to write. First, you learned how to hold a pencil and form letters. Then, you were asked to write sentences and paragraphs. Later, teachers assigned book reports, essays, and other kinds of school-based writing. However, the world of adolescent writing is broader than that, including text messages, emails, status updates, personal letters, and so on. Many teens write blogs, contribute fan fiction, participate in online forums, write walkthroughs for video games, and so on. They make videos, podcasts, slideshows, posters, graphs, and so on, both in school and for other reasons. However, typically, primary and secondary writing instruction focuses on school-based writing. That education has contributed to your entrance into college. In college though, our goal is to have you think more broadly about writing, connect your wide range of writing practices, and introduce you to an even larger constellation of writing genres and practices across academic, professional, and civic contexts. In addition to exploring the specific practices that facilitate composing in these many contexts, we will also consider the role that writing and literacy play in academia, as well as in the culture-at-large.

Required Materials• Joining the Conversation by Mike Palmquist

• Bedford’s e-Portfolio

Goals Assessment

In 101, students will

← learn rhetorical strategies for successful academic writing

← formal and informal writing assignments

← compose in a variety of academic, professional, and civic contexts, including digital environments

← formal writing assignments, including one digital composition and assignments in more than one genre

← undertake a productive writing practice, including revising

← formal writing assignments require drafts and revision

← make and support arguments ← formal and informal writing assignments

← acquire an introductory understanding of rhetorical analysis

← formal and informal writing assignments

← practice critical and evaluative reading ← formal and informal writing assignments

← understand the role of conventions in different genres.

← students write in more than one genre

In 201, in addition, students will ←

← practice library research methods ← a formal, research-based writing assignment

← evaluate primary and secondary sources ← a formal, research-based writing assignment

← compose a researched essay ← a formal, research-based writing assignment

Through 101 and 201, students will ←

← be introduced to the humanistic discipline of rhetoric

← formal and informal writing assignments

← investigate questions of the humanities through rhetorical study

← formal and informal writing assignments

GradingReview 5%

Proposal 10%

Article 10%

Essay 10%

Slidecast 5%

Portfolio 50%

Informal Writing 10%

Assignment DescriptionsBelow are very brief descriptions of the assignments for the course. More detailed descriptions of the assignments are available online.

ReviewA review of a public event (e.g. a concert, show, presentation) or recent book, film, video game, album, or television series. A minimum of 1000 words.

ArticleA magazine-style article on the role of the Internet and social media on politics. A minimum of 1000 words.

Proposal

A proposal on how educational institutions can better foster creativity. A minimum of 1000 words.

Essay

A more traditional, humanities essay on generational identities. A minimum of 1300 words.

SlidecastAn informative slidecast discussing additional research you have done on one of the previous topics. A 3-5 minute slidecast.

PortfolioYour portfolio will include revised versions of 2 previously written assignments, the slidecast, informal writing, and a reflective essay (750 words). Informal Writing

You will participate in online discussion forums. Each week you will write twice on the discussion forum. Posts are of an informal nature, usually 100-200 words, and related to class discussion. You will also be expected to participate in peer review of each other’s drafts, and write in class.

Course PoliciesAccessibility ResourcesIf you require classroom or testing accommodations due to a disability, please contact Accessibility Resources, located at 25 Capen Hall. AR can be reached by phone at (716) 645-2608 or by email at stu-accessibility@buffalo.edu. You may also visit the Accessibility Resources website for further information: www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/ods/. Please inform me as soon as possible about your needs so that we can coordinate your accommodations.

Academic DishonestyPlease familiarize yourself with the University’s Academic Integrity policy, which can be found at http://undergrad-catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/course/integrity.shtml. In a writing course, we are particularly concerned with plagiarism, which the catalog describes as “Copying or receiving material from any source and submitting that material as one’s own, without acknowledging and citing the particular debts to the source (quotations, paraphrases, basic ideas), or in any other manner representing the work of another as one’s own.” The writing program’s policy states that the first instance of plagiarism will result in an “F” on that assignment. Any additional instances of plagiarism will result in failure of the course.

Late Assignment Policy

On occasion, students are unable to meet assigned due dates. If you believe you will be unable to meet a due date, you must email me prior to the day an assignment is due. In your email you should explain your situation and identify when you will complete the assignment. Typically I will grant students a week extension on one assignment during the semester. Assignments turned in late without prior arrangement will be reduced one full letter grade. Assignments later than one week may not be accepted.

Attendance PolicyThe writing program attendance policy allows students one week of absences. That means you may miss two classes without penalty. Each additional absence will drop your final grade 1/3 of a grade (e.g. miss five classes total and your final grade will drop from a “B” to a “C”).

University Repeat PolicyPlease be advised that English 101, 102, and 201 have been designated as “limited enrollment” courses. Self-registration in these courses in the Fall and Spring semesters will be limited to those students who are taking the course for the first time; repeat enrollments during Spring and Fall will not be allowed. Students who plan to repeat one of these courses for any reason should plan to register for the course during one of the summer sessions.

Repeat enrollment refers to registration by a student who was previously enrolled in the course at UB, or who transferred an equivalent course to UB, and who received a letter grade of A, B, C, D or F and qualified values thereof (e.g., A-, D+) or a grade of P, S, U, I, J, N or R. The only case in which a student may self-register for a repeated course is when the student has taken an Administrative Withdrawal for an entire previous semester, so that all the grades for that semester were registered as W.

Course ScheduleNote: Course schedule is subject to change. Notifications of changes will be made in class.

Meeting Day Due in-Class/Class Activities Reading Assignment for Next Class

8/27 • Class Introduction• Begin Review Assignment

• Read Chapter 8

8/29 • Discuss Reviewing • Read Chapter 1

9/3 • Analyzing Assignments• Introduce Portfolio Project • Read Chapter 4

9/5 • Classes Cancelled: Rosh Hashanah

9/10 • Bring drafts of Review to class• In-class workshop

• Read Chapter 9

9/12 • Drafts of Review returned• Begin Proposal assignment

• Watch Steven Johnson “Where Do Good Ideas Come From?”

• Watch Sir Ken Robinson “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”

• Read Cathy Davidson “Collaborative Learning for the Digital Age”

9/17 • Final Drafts of Review DUE• Discuss videos/reading

• Read Portfolio Keeping, Part 1

9/19 • Portfolio Day: What is a Portfolio?

9/24 • Bring drafts of Proposal to class

• In-class workshop

• Read Chapter 7

9/26 • Drafts of Proposal returned• Begin Article Assignment

• Read Danah Boyd “Can Social Network Sites Enable Political Action?”

10/1 • Final Drafts of Proposal DUE• Discuss Boyd

• Read Clay Shirky “The Political Power of Social Media”

• Read Malcolm Gladwell “Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted”

10/3 • Discuss Shirky and Gladwell

10/8 • Portfolio Day: Genre Switching

10/10 • Drafts of Article DUE• In-class Workshop

10/15 • Mid-semester Conferences

10/17 • Mid-semester Conferences • Read Chapter 10

Course ScheduleNote: Course schedule is subject to change. Notifications of changes will be made in class.

10/22 • Article Due• Start Essay Assignment

• Read Joel Stein “Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation”

• Read Elspeth Reeve “Every Every Every Generation Has Been the Me Me Me Generation”

• Read Matt Bors “The generation we love to dump on”

10/24 • Discuss Stein, Reeve and Bors • Read Pew Research Center, Overview “MILLENNIALS: Confident. Connected. Open to Change.”

10/29 • Discuss Pew Research •

10/31 • Portfolio Day: Using Sources

11/5 Draft of Essay DUE In-class Workshop

• Read Portfolio Keeping, Part 2

11/7 • Draft of Essay returned• Portfolio Project

• Read Chapter 6

11/12 • Final draft of Essay DUE• Begin Informative Slidecast

• Read Garr Reynolds, Presentation Tips

11/14 • Slide Design 101

11/19 • Draft of Slidecast DUE• In-Class Workshop

11/21 • Conferences •11/26 • Conferences: •

11/28 • THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY •

12/3 • Portfolio Workshop •12/5 • Portfolio Workshop • Portfolio Due No Later than

12/10

Review AssignmentExecutive SummaryThe review is a familiar genre for most readers. We might read reviews of products or books on Amazon, restaurants on Yelp!, films on Rotten Tomatoes, or video games on Gamespot. We read the reviews of professional reviewers in newspapers and magazines and the reviews of consumers across the web. Reviews are not only an opportunity to share one’s views with the public but can provide a valuable public service: we rely upon reviews all the time. Though many people write reviews, writing good reviews can be difficult. Reviews require judgment, but that judgment must be informed and unbiased. For example, if you dislike science fiction movies and you allow that bias to affect your judgment, then your review of science fiction movies will not be effective or valuable. You have a wide range of options in selecting a subject for your review. You can choose a public event (e.g., a concert or show, a public speech or presentation) or some piece of media (e.g., a book, film, album, video game). You don’t need to attend an event, buy a book, or view a film especially for the purposes of this assignment, but you should pick something that is current (i.e., something from this year at minimum). If you choose an event, it would be best to pick something you can attend in the next couple weeks rather than relying on past memory.

The Process1. Think about your criteria: you’ll want to read some reviews in the same genre

as the one you are writing (e.g., movie reviews if it’s a film). Make a list of the important criteria by which your review object is judged (e.g., screenplay, acting, camera work, directing, special effects).

2. Revisit your subject: watch the movie again, re-read the book, play the game, etc. This time think about your criteria. How does your object meet the appropriate criteria? How does it match up with other similar objects?

3. Writing the review: again, think about the rules of your specific type of review. For example, book reviews shouldn’t spoil the plot of the readers. Remember that your audience is primarily reading your review to decide whether or not they should buy the book, album, etc. What can you tell your readers to help them make their decision?

Requirements• Your review must be a minimum of 1000 words in length.• You must participate in the online, peer review workshop.

Evaluation CriteriaYou will be evaluated by the following criteria, roughly in order of decreasing importance:

• Review of a specific object• Ability to address a general audience• Engagement with the style and form of the review• Thoughtful response to workshop feedback• Spelling, grammar, other stylistic concerns.

Article AssignmentExecutive SummaryYou will write a magazine-style article that addresses the role of social media in politics. Our readings offer some disagreement on this issue. They also point to both national and international political scenes. This is a tough assignment. You probably have some experience with social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), but you may not have thought a lot about the technology or its social implications. You also probably have some knowledge of current political events and major political matters of the last few years (e.g., Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, the last Presidential election, etc.), but you have probably not studied these matters in depth. In this article, your audience are other college students, who probably have similar levels of knowledge to yourself. Social media does seem to change the way we engage in politics. Whether or not it is a significant difference appears to be a matter of debate. This is a matter that might be of interest to those who have a stake in politics (which should be all of us). Your job is to find a way to connect to this issue, make it important to you, and then attempt to make it important and interesting to your audience.

The Process1. Readings and discussion: as you work your way through the readings and participate

in discussion you should try to keep in mind how the points being raised connect with your own experiences with social media. Where do the arguments the others make strongly conflict with your experience? Where do the resonate? Most importantly, where do the authors' perspectives shed new light on your experiences?

2. Your social media experience and politics: depending on your own use of social media, you’ve likely had some experience with political action online. Perhaps you’ve had some experience with local political issues being raised via social media (e.g. circulating a petition, organizing meetings, spreading the word, etc.).

3. Writing an article: As you write your essay you should consider how the authors appeal to their audience through a style that is not dry and academic but still manages to make a complex argument and deal with difficult issues in a thoughtful way.

Requirements• Your article must be a minimum of 1000 words in length.• You must participate in the online, peer review workshop.

Evaluation CriteriaYou will be evaluated by the following criteria, roughly in order of decreasing importance:

• Discussion of the role of social media in politics• Engagement with at least one of the readings from this module• Ability to address a general audience• Engagement with the style and form of the article• Thoughtful response to workshop feedback• Spelling, grammar, other stylistic concerns.

Proposal AssignmentExecutive SummaryYou will propose actions that might be taken to make your learning environment or experience more conducive to creative thinking and working. If you have just left high school or another educational institution, your proposal might be directed at that place or you might make a proposal regarding UB. Our readings will explore how creativity can be encouraged, discuss the need for creative thinking in the workplace, and address the challenges of fostering creativity in schools. You will not be writing a formal proposal. Formal proposals (such as those written to win federal grants) are highly specialized genres, and we will not be focusing on the particular technical details of such proposals. Instead, you will write in a more conventional essay format that takes up the rhetorical task of making a proposal. That is, your job in this text is to gain the support of fellow students, teachers or faculty, and administrators for the actions you suggest. You will need to explain the value of creative thinking and convince your audience that your solutions will help encourage creativity. Futhermore, you will need to convince them that the resulting benefit for them will outweigh whatever cost is involved.

The Process1. Reading and Discussion: as with our first assignment, as we read through the

texts you will need to identify key points that you will want to include in your proposal. Consider your own experiences with being creative. Why do so few of us consider ourselves to be creative? When did we stop feeling creative? What conditions encourage creativity?

2. Experience and Observation: think about your experiences in high school and now in college. When were you given opportunities to be creative? What was the result? Pay close attention to your classrooms and other learning spaces (e.g. the library), as well as the activities that go on there. Do they encourage creativity? If so, how so? If not, how might they be altered?

3. Writing the Proposal: give yourself some time to write this. Bounce your ideas off your friends and classmates. They spend a lot of time on campus. I’m sure they have some thoughts on the matter. Their responses might also give you some ideas about how to approach your audience in a more convincing manner.

Requirements• Your article must be a minimum of 1000 words in length.• You must participate in the online, peer review workshop.

Evaluation CriteriaYou will be evaluated by the following criteria, roughly in order of decreasing importance:

• Propose a way to make your school a more creative place• Engagement with at least one of the readings from this module• Use of personal experience and observation• Ability to address multiple audiences: peers, faculty, and administrators• Thoughtful response to workshop feedback• Spelling, grammar, other stylistic concerns.

Essay AssignmentExecutive Summary

You will write an essay on the topic of generational identities. We will begin by examining the treatment of Millennials in the media, though we will also look at some demographic research. From here, you’ll have several options. You could

• compare media treatment of your generation with other generations; • examine US Millennials in terms of ethnic and economic differences within the country or

look at other parts of the world;• delve further into the research cited in our readings;• investigate a specific issue coming out of the demographics (e.g. generational political

attitudes);• draw on personal experience;• interview other Millennials.

This is the most traditionally academic assignment in this class. You will discover that there are many different kinds of academic writing, just as there are many kinds of writing that go on beyond the campus. Biologists do not write like historians, who do not write like economists, etc. In this assignment you will be writing in a genre that is common in the humanities and somewhat like the school writing you have done in the past. You will make a claim about generational identity. You will support your claim by citing evidence from the class readings. You will also need to find one appropriate outside source.

The Process1. Reading and Discussion: in traditional humanities student essays, the ability to make

effective use of textual material is one of the most important skills. As you read, you need to identify the key points the authors make and highlight specific passages that you might want to quote latter. Any place where the author makes an interesting or significant claim should be marked. You will also want to take note of any specific evidence the authors offer that you might also wish to include. It is important to pay attention to authors who offer claims in opposition to yours or make counter-arguments against your claims. You will need to address these in your essay.

2. Outside Research: in ENG 201 you will focus on writing an extended research project. Here you only need to find one source. You should look for an academic article in the university library database, but you might also consider longer magazine articles, like the ones we have been reading this semester. Do not cite a Wikipedia article. However, many of those articles include references to source materials that are appropriate for citation, so I do recommend that you consult Wikipedia. Do not cite a website unless you are certain it is credible. You should also avoid short newspaper articles. You can reference these if you want to talk about current events, but you will still need to find a credible academic source to cite. Check with me if you aren’t sure.

3. Writing the Essay: unless you have a great moment of insight, don’t start by trying to come up with your argument/claim. Start by writing about your sources, both the class readings and your outside research. Summarize their positions. Write about the quotes you want to use. Evaluate their arguments and explain why you agree or disagree with them. Discuss how they connect with one another. This kind of textual analysis will form the bulk of the body of your paper. Once you discover what your

claim will be, start to pull this draft writing into a cohesive text. Then you can write the introduction and conclusion.

Requirements• Your article must be a minimum of 1300 words in length.• You must participate in the peer review workshop.

Evaluation CriteriaYou will be evaluated by the following criteria, roughly in order of decreasing importance:

• Make a claim regarding generational identities• Engagement with at least one of the readings from this module• Find and employ an appropriate piece of outside research• Use close readings of these texts to support your claim• Consider counter-arguments• Thoughtful response to workshop feedback• Spelling, grammar, other stylistic concerns.

SlidecastExecutive Summary

A slidecast combines PowerPoint slides with an audio track to create a short video. Slidecasts are employed in a wide range of rhetorical situations as they are technically easy to produce. Of course, we have all be subject to dull PowerPoint talks, typically punctuated with slides that are filled with text and bullet points. However, slides don’t need to look that way. They can be well-designed and visually appealing. This is part of what we call “visual rhetoric,” which is the study of how images can be used to communicate and serve rhetorical purposes. That said, a slidecast is not just about images; there is also an audio track. Recording an effective audio presentation is probably as important today as giving an effective real-time presentation. It takes practice to read a prepared text and make it sound natural. It takes even more skill to extemporize. For this project, you will be introduced to principles of visual rhetoric and slide design, as well as to some concepts of oral presentation. You will then create a short slidecast: 3-5 minutes with at least 10 slides.

The topic of your slidecast will depend on the revision for your portfolio project. Your purpose will be to report on research that you have done in the process of your revisions. Your audience is your classmates, and your goal should be to explain why you find this research you’ve done to be important and interesting.

The Process1. Selecting a topic: you’ve already begun your portfolio revision project, so you

should have already done some research. You should pick a text you have researched or a specific issue that you feel you can adequately address in 3-5 minutes (about 750 words). You should also think about a topic you think will be conducive to visual presentation. Really any topic can work, but you need to have an idea about how you will present it visually.

2. Find images: the Internet will be your primary resource here but it takes some skill to find the right search terms to find the images you need. You may find that the images you discover will help to shape the text for your presentation.

3. Write the script: your script should be approximately 750 words. Your purpose is reporting, so you don’t need to make an explicit argument, but you do need to explain why this information is valuable and relevant to your audience.

4. Design the slides: in addition to thinking about each slide’s individual design, you need to give some thought to the overall effect. There should be some visual consistency across the slides. Also, you should think about the rhythm of moving from slide to slide. Each slide shouldn’t be on the screen for an equal amount of time. Interspersing a few quick slides along with ones that are on the screen longer will give your presentation more energy.

5. Record your presentation: Give yourself some time to do this. Don’t expect that you’ll get it right the first time. Practice. And then experiment a little with the mic settings to get a good sound quality.

Requirements• A 3-5 minute slidecast with at least 10 slides

• A copy of the script• Participation in the workshop

Evaluation Criteria

• Reporting on research done for the portfolio project• An objective presentation of the research material• Visually effective slides• A clear oral presentation• Thoughtful response to workshop feedback

Portfolio ProjectExecutive Summary

For this class you will produce a portfolio of substantively revised writing; the portfolio will also include a reflective essay detailed below. One of the most important parts of becoming a successful writer is learning to revise. There are many kinds of revision that you will practice in this course and encounter elsewhere as writers.

• Proofreading and editing: fixing grammatical and other sentence level issues.• Short-term revision: taking feedback on a draft and making changes on the paragraph

and document level in a few days (or maybe only hours).• Long-term revision: where a text develops over weeks and months as you conduct more

research, get feedback, and better understand your project.The portfolio project is about this last kind of revision. You will select two of your four text-based assignments (review, proposal, article, and essay), conduct some additional research, and substantially revise and extend these texts for your portfolio. Your portfolio will also include your slidecast, which itself will report on research you are doing as part of your revision process.

You will produce one new document for the portfolio: a reflective essay. In this short essay, you will detail the decisions that you made in selecting and revising your two essays for the portfolio. The point is to be as detailed as possible in describing the choices you made and how they resulted in a different and hopefully better text.

The Process

1. Selecting texts: the portfolio project will begin early in the semester. It probably makes sense for you to select at least one of the first two assignments to include in your portfolio so you can get started. You don’t need to pick the one you did the best on gradewise; you need to identify the text that you think is the most interesting or has the most potential to be expanded.

2. Researching and repurposing: as you do research for your revision, you may discover your revision going in surprising directions. The point of this portfolio revision is not to make a better “review” or “article” or whatever. The purpose is to take an initial investigation and follow it. For example, a review of the summer movie Pacific Rim might take one into a history of Japanese monster movies. The article on social media and politics might lead one toward research on a political issue not connected with social media or into issues with social media that are not overtly about politics.

3. Give yourself time: the portfolio is 50% of your final grade. That means about half your work on the course should be devoted to this project. Classtime will be regularly devoted to the portfolio and there are two schedule conferences. However you can meet with me to discuss this project more regularly if you want.

Requirements• Two substantially revised writing assignments• Slidecast• Two examples of informal writing from the class

• Reflective Essay• Participation in Portfolio Workshop

Evaluation Criteria• Demonstrated skill at revision• Make clear arguments• Incorporate research• Identify appropriate genres for revision• Audience awareness appropriate to genre• Reflect on revising experience• Provide strong evidence for reflection